RIDE ALONG CHRONICLES

Today, we had the opportunity to meet Lorenzo Ortiz, a crisis negotiations team lead in one of the largest cities in the US. He has a background in education and psychology and is currently currently working towards another masters degree in clinical mental health. He has 19 years of law-enforcement experience, and utilizes opportunities when teaching to share about crisis intervention and crisis negotiation with other first responders. In addition, he has written a book called 'Brining Hope' to further help others in this field. So, come ride along with us!

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In today's episode we had an opportunity to speak with a seasoned police officer, Red, whose dedication for peer support resonates with both young and veteran officers. This commitment has led him to become a Team Leader for his agency's Peer Support & Wellness Unit and help them expand their outreach to smaller surrounding first responder agencies. His knowledge and passion are contagious, and his desire to keep learning and sharing with others is very inspiring. So, come ride along with us!

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Today's Special Episode, is pretty unique. We have an opportunity to meet, Kristofer Healey, a retired law enforcement officer whose belief and practice of stoic philosophy helped him succeed in his personal and professional life. His passion for helping other first responders and their families learn about and practice stoicism led him to writing his book, In Valor: 365 Stoic Meditations for First Responders, and becoming the host of his own podcast, The Stoic Responder. Kristofor shares his personal journey and explains how the lessons and insightful advantages of this philosophical mindset can help others experience an emotional healthier life. We encourage you to read Kristofor's book and visit his website at kristoferhealey.com to learn more about stoic philosophy and its personal benefits. So, come ride along with us!

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Join us for Part 2 of this Special Episode as Cynthia, a combat veteran and business professional who works in the behavioral health field, continues her story. Cynthia will share how her personal mental health journey, and the challenges she faced seeking treatment, fueled her passion on helping active service members and veterans navigate mental health services through the VA. Cynthia will explain how this mission led her to advocate for legislative changes in mental health benefits available for this population. As a board member of the Veterans Medical Leadership Council of AZ, Cynthia will share details about the "The Veterans COMPACT Act of 2020." So, come ride along with us!

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Join us for Part 1 of this Special Episode with Cynthia, a combat veteran and business professional who works in the behavioral health field. Cynthia will share her personal mental health journey and the challenges she faced seeking treatment through the VA. She will also explain how her experience fueled her focus to help active service members and veterans navigate behavioral health services. Cynthia will explain how this passion led her to advocate for legislative changes in mental health benefits available for this population. As a board member of the Veterans Medical Leadership Council of AZ, Cynthia will share details about the "The Veterans COMPACT Act of 2020." So, come ride along with us!

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On today's special episode we meet Jenny, a licensed mental health professional, who explained what it was like working with first responders in the field and inside behavioral health facilities. Jenny shared how she got into this career and fell in love with helping individuals dealing with mental health struggles. She explained how her professional experience working at Connections Health Solutions-Urgent Psychiatric Center (UPC) and Valleywise Behavioral Health in Arizona prepared her for her own personal journey caring for her mentally ill mother. Realizing that self care such as sleep during this time and utilizing available resources, like Vitania-Heal the Heroes, was vital. Jenny explained how that experience navigating in-patient recovery facilities for her mother became the catalyst to refocus her commitment to helping others in public safety and the community. So, come ride along with us! https://connectionshs.com/phoenix https://valleywisehealth.org/locations/valleywise-health-medical-center/utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmbhospital https://vitanya.com/gilbert/

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Join us for Part 2 of this two-part reflection episode. It's been two years since we launched our podcast! To honor this momentous occasion, we brought back our first guest, Lisa from Episode #2, Getting "THAT" Call, to share with us. We look back at Lisa's story about her experience with her first responder's officer involved shooting incident, multiple line of duty injuries, and the aftermath recovery. Lisa set the bar on what it should look like and feel like when someone shares their personal story with so much honesty, vulnerability and bravery. We learn how Lisa has continued to share her personal journey and enlighten, support, and empower other first responder families. So, come ride along with us!

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It's been two years since we launched our podcast! Join us as we honor this momentous occasion by going back to where it all started and reflect on lessons learned, how we have grown, and what we have achieved these last two years. We brought back our first guest, Lisa from Episode #2, Getting "THAT" Call, to join us in this two-part reflection episode. In this Part 1 episode, we catch up with Lisa and look back at her personal story where she shared her experience with her first responder's officer involved shooting incident, multiple line of duty injuries, and the aftermath recovery. Lisa set the bar on what it should look like and feel like when someone shares their personal story with so much honesty, vulnerability and bravery. We learn how Lisa has continued to share her personal journey and enlighten, support, and empower other first responder families. So come ride along with us!

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Join us for Part 2 of our Special Episode with Rainee as she continues her personal story as a first responder spouse and how she incorporated her experiences in this lifestyle in her newfound position as a Programs Manager at the 100 Club of Arizona. In this Part 2 episode, Rainee specifically shares how she helps first responders and their families through the multitude of assistance programs offered by the 100 Club. Rainee breaks down some of these amazing financial and wellness support programs. She also shares how working with first responders and their families as the 100 Club Programs Manager gave her a new, unexpected purpose and responsibility she is honored to have. You can learn more about the 100 Club of Arizona and the multitude of assistance programs they offer at 100Club.org. So, come ride along with us!

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On today's two-part Special Episode, Rainee from the 100 Club of Arizona shares her story as a longtime first responder spouse AND how helping first responders and their families in her newfound position there became her greatest, unexpected privilege. In this Part 1 episode, Rainee shares her personal journey living in the first responder lifestyle to include what she first experienced, how she adjusted, the challenges of raising her family, and the lessons she learned along the way. In addition, Rainee explains how she became the Programs Manager at the 100 Club of Arizona and how she navigated the challenges being on the supportive side of helping first responders and their families. Be sure to listen to Part 2 of Rainee's episode released in two weeks where she breaks down the multitude of financial and wellness support programs offered by the 100 Club. She also shares her personal, heartfelt experiences working with this population. You can learn more about the 100 Club of Arizona and the various assistance programs they offer at 100Club.org. So, come Ride Along with Us!

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On today's episode, we wanted to honor the anniversary of our podcast! Two years ago this month Vicki, Tina and I launched Ride Along Chronicles. It has been a whirlwind two years filled with highs, lows and lots of lessons in between. We have so much gratitude and respect for our guests who have shared such deep and personal stories. We have had so many new experiences and have personally grown as women, as friends and as podcasters. It all started with our first guest, Lisa, and her episode "Getting that Call." So, to memorialize our launch two years ago, we decided to re-play that first interview with Lisa. What she shared was so raw, insightful, emotional and empowering! So, come ride along with us!

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On today's episode Sarah shares a very unique perspective regarding a type of culture shock that she experienced while dating a first responder. She will tell us how she navigated their personal relationship and what family life was like as she adapted to this lifestyle. So, come ride along with us!

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Today’s guest, Renee, shares her story and experiences as a public safety dispatcher and being the primary breadwinner in her marriage. She and her husband faced challenges when he became the stay-at-home Dad receiving negative judgements from family, friends and society in general. Her perspective on not following the traditional role is fresh, interesting and enlightening. So, come ride along with us!

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#iaffpeersupport#lawenforcement#leo#leofamilies#leofamily#leorelationships#leow#leowife

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On today's episode we meet Duke, a law enforcement officer, who shared her journey working in various agencies from Municipal, Federal and State levels, and finding the courage to change her career paths. She shared her experiences at each level and how she made these decisions. Being a female in a male dominated field, meeting and exceeding certain expectations is not easy, but Duke showed us how she not only met those expectations but excelled in them. She is a true example of grit, determination and courage. So, come ride along with us!

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#iaff#iaffmentalhealth#iaffpeersupport

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**Re-Release** To prepare for the upcoming holidays we wanted to highlight a previous guest who shared some insightful tips on how to address all the holiday disappointments and issues that affect first responder families. Our interview with Robin addressed so many common communication issues and disagreements that we have all faced at some point in our relationships. Her “1 to 10 scale” was fantastic to identify, as a couple, what holidays are important as a family. No matter the shift schedules, family compositions or dynamic, learning how to navigate this important and emotional challenge of the holidays is integral to a healthy family unit. We encourage you to listen to Robin’s full episode and see how her helpful advice could help your family during the holiday season. So, come ride along with us!

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‘Tis the season for good times and laughter, but it can also bring sadness and overwhelming stress for many. This time of year the one thing that most of us have in common is that self-care becomes secondary or altogether non-existent. For first responders and their families this can be especially true. In this episode we focus on self-care to remind all of us why it is important and how to practice it during the holidays. Reflecting on previous interviews we highlight some healthy strategies shared by some of our previous guests and share a few of our favorite tips. So come ride along with us!

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